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beboots ~Surka the warrior shrew, Nurk: The Strange, Surprising Adventures of a (Somewhat) Brave Shrew. By Ursula Vernon.
Yes, I did indeed write so much that this chapter had to be posted in two pieces! :D
Yes, I did indeed write so much that this chapter had to be posted in two pieces! :D
Last time, on Rise of the Jinchuuriki:
It was a killing blow. Luckily for Naruto, he was never there in the first place.
Today's episode:
****
Naruto blinked as the memories of his bunshin’s encounter with Itachi flooded his brain. It was a good thing that he, in his original body, hadn’t been doing anything more complicated than putting some water on to boil. He had just set down the pot on the stove; if he had still had it in his hands, he would have dropped it, distracted by all of the new memories integrating themselves in his psyche.
Turning the burner on to bring the water to a slow boil, Naruto reviewed his new knowledge.
Well, that encounter had gone as well as could be expected. In fact, he actually felt optimistic, even though Itachi had tried to kill him in the end. That final action was probably a test – to see if Naruto was indeed the ninja he said that he was. The Uchiha would definitely recognize Kage Bunshin, so unless Itachi came bursting through the window of his apartment in the next hour or so to do him in or otherwise “silence” him, Naruto assumed that he had gotten away scot-free. Perhaps he had even achieved a position of respect in Itachi’s regard – if he was capable of an advanced jounin technique, after all, perhaps Itachi would believe him about the rest of the things he had said (i.e., being from the future and thus knowing the fate of the Uchiha clan).
It felt strange, feeling his bunshin’s fear of death. Most of the time, his bunshin knew, intellectually, that they were bunshin, but because they were exact replicas of he, himself, all the way down to memories and emotions, they often forgot that they couldn’t die. Anyway, it was a good thing that he hadn’t left a bunshin with the ANBU today and hadn’t gone himself...
Of course, now that he had gotten that Uchiha business out of the way – hopefully – he could now focus on other matters.
Like ramen. ‘...Well,’ Naruto conceded to himself as he dropped his favourite noodles into the bubbling water to cook, ‘Ramen, and winning over Iruka-sensei.’
It was difficult, sitting in class and seeing Iruka watch him cautiously out of the corner of his eye, not unlike how a civilian would keep an eye on a rabid dog. Still, even though it was... distressing... Naruto could handle it. He had quickly remembered how to ignore glares and furtive whispers. Depressingly, it was like riding a bike – he had never really forgotten how to do so.
Still, as long as he kept seeing his old teammates, Sakura and Sasuke, everyday, he could stand it. Even if they weren't friends with him just yet, they were young, happy and alive, and that was what counted.
That was why he was so horrified to walk into class one day, less than a week after he had spoken with Itachi, to see Sasuke absent. At first, he tried to tell himself that Sasuke had just taken a day off because he was sick or something. But Naruto couldn’t remember Sasuke ever being absent – that wasn’t how the Uchiha worked. Uchiha didn’t become sick (they were too perfect for that), and even if they did become... indisposed, they worked through it and went about their duties anyway. Sasuke would have had these thoughts pounded into his head from a young age. He wouldn’t skip school because of a head cold. Still, Naruto hoped that maybe today was an exception...
But then he saw the subdued look on Iruka-sensei’s face, and the furtive, whispered conversations amongst the academy teachers, all the while glancing at the conspicuous empty place at the end of the row where Sasuke normally sat. A horrible feeling began to grow in Naruto’s chest. His throat felt tight. It couldn’t be...
Then, Iruka-sensei began the lesson with following sombre statement: “Class, last night, there was an attack in the Uchiha district...”
Naruto didn’t need to hear the rest. Unfortunately, he had heard it all before. With the stealth that an academy student shouldn’t possess, Naruto slipped quietly out of the classroom window, unnoticed by his classmates, who were still shocked at the news that they were being imparted with.
****
The Hokage monument was only a small portion of the cliff face itself. The initial sculptors had left room for the faces of future leaders of Konoha, and so there was actually quite a bit of uncarved rock towering above the village, along with the watchful gazes of former Hokage. Naruto wasn’t sitting on any of the heads in particular, but on top of the lump of stone where his likeness would eventually be carved. He used to come up here to think. His face had once been one of the most tangible reminders of his rule. Now, it was only so much raw stone.
The Hokage monument was only a small portion of the cliff face itself. The initial sculptors had left room for the faces of future leaders of Konoha, and so there was actually quite a bit of uncarved rock towering above the village, along with the watchful gazes of former Hokage. Naruto wasn’t sitting on any of the heads in particular, but on top of the lump of stone where his likeness would eventually be carved. He used to come up here to think. His face had once been one of the most tangible reminders of his rule. Now, it was only so much raw stone.
Naruto felt rage, and frustration… He shouldn’t have trusted Itachi. How could he have felt so optimistic about that encounter? Looking back... Itachi had attempted to kill him! Many times! There was no... respect there! Only arrogance!
But more than anger, Naruto felt disappointed. Not only in Itachi, but in himself.
He had failed: as a leader, as a protector, as a ninja. How could he face anybody, especially Sasuke, knowing that he hadn’t even been able to prevent a devastating event that he had known well in advance would happen?
He was an idiot. No question about it. He really did deserve the title of “dead last”. It was more appropriate than any title he had received thus far. He was clueless, and useless.
He hadn’t tried hard enough. He hadn’t been strong enough. And a whole family had died because of it.
****
“Old man… can I talk with you for a minute?”
“Old man… can I talk with you for a minute?”
A harried looking Hokage barely glanced up from his massive pile of reports. Losing the majority of one’s police force in one fell swoop was a contingency that Konoha had never prepared for, and people seemed to generate paperwork as a defense mechanism against not knowing how to deal with the situation. “I’m sorry, Naruto, but I’m really busy at the moment, and I’m expecting someone–“
“Please?” The older man sighed and was about to refuse until looked up and saw the expression on Naruto’s face. He had seen such looks before, on battle hardened ninja, just about to snap and spiral into depression. There was a hollowness in Naruto’s eyes that didn’t belong on the face of an eight-year-old. The Hokage forced a small, welcoming smile and said, “Of course, Naruto. Come in. And shut the door behind you.” Naruto did so. “Sit, sit.” The old ninja gestured at the chair in front of his desk, both of which were covered in stray papers. “Just hand me that stack on that chair, won’t you?” Mechanically, Naruto gave him the pile of paperwork, sitting stiffly on the chair.
The Hokage looked at him, considering. Just what was wrong? “Why don’t you make yourself comfortable? Would you like some tea?”
The boy shook his head, slowly, at the Hokage’s offer, but did draw his legs up onto the seat, wrapping his arms around them in a gesture that Sarutobi recognized as instinctively defensive. Something was definitely wrong. Had someone hurt him? “Naruto, are –“
“Old man?” The boy interrupted, shakily. “Am I a bad person?”
“Naruto, who – why would you think that?” ‘Had someone told him about the Kyuubi...?’ Sarutobi thought with a sinking suspicion.
“Only, I can’t seem to do anything right, and –” Those were tears. Naruto was crying. The Hokage decided, then and there that ‘Yes, heads would roll...’
“No, Naruto,” The Hokage began, almost helplessly. “You’re not a bad person. Why on earth would –“
“I just...” Naruto swiped one sleeve against his eyes. “It’s just... I wanted to stop it, and...”
Sarutobi must have gotten a horrified look on his face, because the boy stopped speaking, mid-sentence. “Naruto, what happened? Did someone ... do something to you?”
“What?” Naruto’s head popped up, dislodging a few more tears to join the ones that already ran in rivulets down his scarred cheeks. “No, I... I...” He looked back down, mumbling something. The Sandaime only caught one word: “Uchiha”.
“Naruto, could you repeat that?”
Naruto sniffed again, avoiding the Hokage’s gaze. “I... saw Uchiha Itachi. Right before he... he...”
“You... you saw Uchiha Itachi?” Sarutobi asked, in confirmation. ‘Did Naruto even know Itachi well enough to recognize him by sight...?’
Naruto nodded slowly, still staring at the ground. “Yeah. With Uchiha Shisui. Shisui was dead.”
“Naruto, why didn’t you –“
“I tried talking to him!” Naruto cried out, almost hysterically. “I tried! I really did!” He sniffed, wiping at his runny nose with one increasingly damp sleeve.
“Why didn’t he kill you?”
“Why didn’t he kill you?”
“I was a kage bunshin.”
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Naruto looked awkward, ashamed. He was resolutely avoiding the Sandaime’s gaze. “Naruto...”
“He... threatened me.” Naruto said, slowly, as if trying to convince both the Hokage and himself.
“Threatened you?”
“Yeah, um... he tried to kill me. But I was a bunshin, right? A kage bunshin? And I was going to say something to someone, but, then, all the Uchiha were killed before I... and... I really should have said something, shouldn’t I?” The boy was crying again.
‘So that’s the crux of the matter.’ Sarutobi got up and walked around the desk, kneeling before the boy in the chair. He took the blond’s small shoulders in his calloused and wrinkled hands and forced the boy to meet his eyes. “Naruto, you can’t feel responsible for the deaths of all of the Uchiha. You are a child. You didn’t know that that was what Itachi was going to do. You couldn’t have known.” But Naruto just began crying harder, his shoulders shaking. Sarutobi sighed, knowing that his words just weren’t reaching the boy, then gathered the trembling child into his arms in a strong hug. “It’s all right. It’s not your fault.” Naruto just kept shaking.
The door to Sarutobi’s office opened and the ninja who had just entered there paused, unsure. Sarutobi gestured for the shinobi there to go out and close the door. With hand signals, the Sandaime explained that he would handle their appointment momentarily when he was finished. With the slightest of hesitations, Umino Iruka backed out of the office and shut the door, as silent as his ninja training could make his actions.
*****
‘That was… unexpected.’ Iruka thought as he quietly shut the office door, leaving the Hokage and… the boy together in the office. The academy teacher had had a scheduled meeting with the Hokage to discuss Uchiha Sasuke’s mental health, and what he, as his teacher, was to do to help when the boy returned to the academy. Iruka was just about the only friendly authority figure left for Sasuke. However, Iruka hadn’t expected to walk into the office and find it occupied by… Uzumaki Naruto. A crying Uzumaki Naruto. Iruka could still hear the quiet keening sounds and the Hokage's quiet murmuring, through the door. He hadn’t even known that the brat was capable of crying.
‘That was… unexpected.’ Iruka thought as he quietly shut the office door, leaving the Hokage and… the boy together in the office. The academy teacher had had a scheduled meeting with the Hokage to discuss Uchiha Sasuke’s mental health, and what he, as his teacher, was to do to help when the boy returned to the academy. Iruka was just about the only friendly authority figure left for Sasuke. However, Iruka hadn’t expected to walk into the office and find it occupied by… Uzumaki Naruto. A crying Uzumaki Naruto. Iruka could still hear the quiet keening sounds and the Hokage's quiet murmuring, through the door. He hadn’t even known that the brat was capable of crying.
Of course, it could just be a prank on the kid’s behalf. Foxes were renowned for being tricksters, after all. ‘But those don’t sound like crocodile tears…’
Iruka made himself scarce, busying himself with some paperwork at the mission’s desk, until he felt the source of demonic chakra leave the Hokage’s office, over half an hour later. Only then did he return to the Hokage’s office, being sure to knock on the door. The Sandaime immediately called for him to enter.
Sarutobi was back at his desk, surrounded by paperwork. Iruka felt almost guilty for having to add to that already teetering pile.
“Ah, Iruka-kun. I’m sorry that I had to postpone our meeting. It was… urgent.”
“Urgent, sir?”
The Hokage sent him a distracted smile. “Naruto-kun… he feels his classmate’s loss keenly. He feels bad that the boy is… like him, now. Alone.”
Iruka had a feeling that this wasn’t the whole story – if it was the story at all – but he couldn’t exactly question the Hokage, so he just nodded. The Hokage was looking at him expectantly, though. “Yes, sir, I understand.” He added, hoping to move on to less painful topics.
“Do you, Iruka-kun?” Again, there was that look.
“Sir?”
“You were already orphaned at his age, right?”
Again, Iruka began to get a sinking feeling in his chest. All of his ninja training seemed to be on the alert – Danger! Danger! Retreat! – but he couldn’t retreat from the Hokage’s presence without being dismissed.
“You understand what Naruto-kun going through right now,” The Hokage elaborated. “He is alone, without any adults to talk to… Besides me, of course, but I can’t connect with him as well as someone closer to him in age would.”
Iruka saw, with a growing feeling of horror, just where this conversation was going, but decorum specified that he couldn’t interrupt.
“Besides, I have a myriad of duties that I must attend to, and I am certain that you would have more time to attend to him than I would.” Now, it wasn’t just about the Kyuubi brat, it was a matter of serving the Hokage, Iruka realized.
“Iruka-kun?” Iruka snapped out of his daze, realizing that he had been staring blankly at the Hokage’s hat. Apparently now he was required to answer.
“Sir?”
“You really are the best person for the job.” Iruka noticed that the Sandaime specified ‘person’ and not ‘ninja’.
“But he – he killed –“
“No, Iruka-kun.” The Hokage interrupted, voice hard. “I think that you’ll find that he didn’t. He laughs, cries, and bleeds the same as we do. He isn't the beast.”
Involuntarily, Iruka remembered the scene he had walked in on less than an hour before. The boy had looked very distraught… had it all been an act…? Could it have been?
“I... I can’t just...”
“Iruka-kun… I’ll make it a mission, shall I?” The Hokage’s eyes were kind. “If it’ll make you feel better about all of this business. I know how hard this is for you.” That certainly was an understatement.
“What? A mission?” Iruka gave a weak chuckle. “‘Umino Iruka, chuunin, hereby ordered to “be nice” to Uzumaki Naruto?’”
The wrinkles around the Hokage’s eyes grew more pronounced as he hid a smile. “I am certain that I can find a more professional way to phrase it in the mission statement.” Sarutobi said with a completely straight face.
Iruka gave a formal bow. “Well then, I accept the mission, Hokage-sama.”
***
Next Chapter: Pulling Ahead in the Race
***
Next Chapter: Pulling Ahead in the Race
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part 2 XD
Date: 2008-07-13 07:06 pm (UTC)but he would rather keep his head on his shoulders with a blown identity than being anonymous and dead. So would I. *hugs Naruto*
He succeeded only marginally, drawing upon all of his experience with false bravado (usually used when caught red-handed setting up pranks; that, and when he was bluffing in front of particularly ornery politicians). I like how you make the mentions to all the politicking Naruto did as Hokage. He’s got better at bluffing. ;)
Naruto inwardly cursed the inscrutableness of Itachi’s facial expressions.
… is “inscrutableness” supposed to be “inscrutability”? I’m not sure, the word just sounds odd to me. >_> Cool how Naruto plays up the Kyuubi’s appearance to give some backing to his words; Itachi might think that it really is just the Kyuubi who’s speaking to him.
“Something worse – a human mind who can use the Kyuubi’s chakra. The Kyuubi is into mindless destruction more than anything; I can direct it. That’s much more dangerous, don’t you agree, Uchiha-san?” What was unspoken, but implied by the way that Naruto addressed Itachi was the subtle ‘Your family can control the Kyuubi’s mind, but you can’t control mine.’
Oh snap! I really liked that last sentence about “your family can control the Kyuubi’s mind, but you can’t control mine.” It really drives the point home; Naruto is an entity separate of the Kyuubi, and can certainly control the Kyuubi’s powers for his own ends. >D
Aha, Naruto uses “Believe it!” in a most serious manner too. I liked that little part. :D
“You need to do what’s best for Konoha. It’s what we’re trained to do, isn’t it? We’re both Konoha ninja, after all.”
But that’s the sticking point, isn’t it? They might have different definitions of what’s best for Konoha. Since Itachi knows his clan is planning a possible takeover, he might believe it’s best for Konoha to kill his own clan; just as Naruto believes it’s detrimental for an entire family prominent in the police force/ANBU/ninja to be wiped out.
Ahh, Naruto thinks it’s all over, does he? Unfortunately… Poor Sasuke. D: Although Naruto shouldn’t beat himself over the head like that, the poor boy. I mean, he’s encountered many failures during his life and the main thing to do is rise above said failures and succeed beyond what anyone could imagine. However, in this case he has foresight, and still couldn’t stop the massacre. Plus he’s got that protecting-people/Hokage-of-the-village mindset going. So I guess he’ll beat himself over the head about it for a bit.
Paperwork as a defense mechanism. XP Oh, Naruto. ♥
Okay, the Sandaime Hokage is made of win. I love how he leads the conversation up to, “Iruka, you understand Naruto, why don’t you take him around?” along with the kind, grandfatherly-innocent smile. :)
You said the next chapter would be a catch-up chapter, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens. Naruto and Iruka? Naruto possibly having more interaction with the future Konoha 11? Gaara and the siblings? Gaara and Yashamaru? Politicking in Suna? I look forward to it. :DDD
Re: part 2 XD
Date: 2008-07-13 07:11 pm (UTC)Re: part 2 XD
Date: 2008-07-14 12:29 am (UTC)Also, I just noticed that you commented about the "believe it" line. I was seriously sad that none of my reviewers said anything about it. I thought it was hilarious when I wrote it! D: Seriously!
Re: part 2 XD
Date: 2008-07-19 05:31 pm (UTC)Re: part 2 XD
Date: 2008-07-14 12:27 am (UTC)Eeep, you're probably right regarding "inscrutableness" vs "inscrutability". D: What the heck is the noun form of "inscrutable", anyway...? Oh, hey, fun fact: the word "inscrutable" was actually created by English speakers to specifically refer to Chinese faces (inscrutable = un-readable). Technically, it should only be used when referring to asian people, but that's racist, so... ;)
I actually had Naruto play around with the Kyuubi's power specifically so I could include that scene where he asks the Kyuubi for a favour. I wrote that scene like months ago, before I had planned out the contents of this chapter, and I was just looking for any opportunity to shove it in there... :3
Yep, yep - Naruto is very good at choosing his words. :3 You can tell that he's a politician... :3
Haha! And you've caught it - Naruto never outright says "don't kill your family". He just goes on about doing "what's right", even if it's difficult. ;) Naruto is going to have a lot of angst when he finds out that he essentially convinced Itachi to go ahead and kill the Uchiha... XD
And yep, Naruto's going to be very careful from now on. He's learned his lesson... but will still feel guilty about it for years to come... especially when he comes in contact with Sasuke regularly.
Also, I seriously think that when people have no idea what to do in a bureaucracy, they'll generate paperwork. No joke.
I actually wasn't all that fond of the Sandaime before writing this fic (he was one of those characters that was "just there" for me; I didn't know enough about him to like or hate him), but now that I've written several scenes with him, being all kindly and manipulative, like a ninja Dumbledore... I actually like him, now. :)
You know, I'm going to be interested in seeing where the next chapter takes me. D: I have like 500 words written (non-concecutively) so far. I'll try to hammer out a chapter plan tonight, but... D:
Re: part 2 XD
Date: 2008-07-19 05:35 pm (UTC)Yeah, Naruto must be even more careful about what he says. In Itachi's case, it wasn't specific enough and now Itachi thinks Naruto was sort of egging him on. You know, it'll be interesting when Itachi meets Sasuke and turns to Naruto and talks to him... :D
Seriously, bureaucracy IS paperwork. Enough said. D :
Same here, Sandaime is like a ninja Dumbledore. Not quite as manipulative, but the same sort of idea, basically. And speaking of Sandaime... >_> here is some crackfic featuring him. Perhaps you might find it amusing! ;)
Good luck with your writing! I've got some writer's block now, so I'm just planning out things and such. :)
Re: part 2 XD
Date: 2008-07-19 11:02 pm (UTC)And thank you for the link! :D I shall definitely run off to read that fic, poste haste... :D
Re: part 2 XD
Date: 2008-07-20 07:56 pm (UTC)